Permission to Breathe: Exhibition
Permission to Breathe: A Black Woman’s Perspective on Living Life Unapologetically is a vibrant, multidisciplinary art exhibition celebrating the brilliance and boundlessness of Black women. Curated by artists Ebony Iman Dallas, Elizabeth Feahther Henley, and Jaiden Jiji McClellan, this show centers the voices, visions, and lived experiences of Black women artists who dare to exhale deeply, take up space, and create without constraint.
Through various forms of artistic expression, the exhibition explores themes several themes: rest, resistance, joy, ancestral memory, embodiment, and radical self-acceptance. These pieces can affirm that breathing freely is not only a right, but a revolutionary act or speak to the struggles Black Women endure in order to simply exist.
Honey and Molasses
This piece was inspired by the quote, “I am dripping in melanin and honey. I am Black without apology,” by Upile Chisala. I resonate deeply with these words, as affirmations of Blackness and self-worth have been a constant presence in my life. Growing up, my mother taught me to honor my skin, my body, and my presence in a world that often demands restraint or silence from Black women.
As an adult, I return to those affirmations as acts of self-love and confidence. Through texture, material weight, and dripping forms, the figure embodies abundance, sensuality, and unapologetic existence. Her afro represents inheritance and overflow—what is carried, what is protected, and what refuses to be contained. This work celebrates Black womanhood as grounded, radiant, and fully embodied.
“My hope is that my work invite viewers into moments of reflection and emotional presence.”
Honey and Molasses
Built for Possibility